Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2033: Mistakes (2)

From time to time, Sylas would still think about that day he was forced to confront his own weakness for the first time.

Every time he faced it, he tried to forget it, he tried to throw it from his mind and ignore it, but every time he stepped out into this world he would be forced to face it again.

Death.

Back on Earth, ignoring these things wasn't difficult. In fact, it was even easy for him. There was nothing as permanent as death looming around every corner, so every time he made a mistake he could just bury it in another part of his brain and then move on as though nothing at all had happened.

But time and time again, out in this world post Summoning, he was forced to face the possibility of his death. And every time he did, that nagging discomfort in the back of his mind would come again, and then again, and then again.

The defensive mechanism he had built up so perfectly back on Earth felt completely worthless here.

On Earth, the worst thing that could happen was that he'd have to observe Cassarae from afar, that he would lose a relationship he could pretend not to care too much about, or that he could pretend had ended on good terms.

But out here, it was different. The stakes were much higher.

Out here he could die. The ones he loved could die. They could be permanently altered or changed, their minds warped beyond recognition.

Everything out here was a war zone they had no choice but to participate in. The chances of horrid things even outside of death were so astronomical that every mistake Sylas made was amplified tens of times over.

'Mistakes...'

Sylas looked at the feather. Somehow, it was getting even heavier in his hands, pulling down on him as though it wanted him to sink into the very earth itself.

To the side, Alex watched in silence, his eyes glittering as though he was anticipating something, some sort of change. And if he was anticipating it, it just might be the sort of shocking revelation that could change everything.

But Sylas didn't feel some great change coming. Staring at that feather, experiencing its weight, he almost saw through it.

How could something so light be so very heavy?

He walked through life, taking all the burdens onto himself, protecting his family and Earth on the back line and rushing ahead on the vanguard for the sake of them all. His mother, Cassarae, his family as a whole-every one of them tried to have him rely on them more, and he always rejected the idea.

Even for his mother, a woman he respected to the depths of his soul, the difference was little.

Sylas might nod and be accepting of her words on the surface, but in action, little changed. He just gave her busying tasks that she could distract herself with. So prolonged as she was in a place where she was safe, it would be fine.

That was why he had panicked so much when his little sister disappeared outside of a range he could control. He had a great amount of faith in her cleverness, in her intelligence, in her resourcefulness, but he never gave her a chance to show any of it.

She was his little sister, she deserved to be under his umbrella for a lifetime, she deserved to live a life of leisure and peace from this moment to the day she died a peaceful death. And if he could help it, he would ensure that she would never have to face the possibility of death at all.

If he was as good as he thought himself to be, he would surely reach such a stage one day... he already felt like the path was laid out for him.

But the one thing he couldn't do was bring back the dead. He couldn't reconstruct their Wills and just reforge those he loved. He couldn't do it... So he couldn't afford to take the risk of failing. He refused to.

The possibility of him slipping up and making another mistake, a mistake where he couldn't just brush it away and ignore it....

It was too high.

Sylas recalled looking down on the Monkey King. He didn't think real Pride could take a step back. He felt that real Pride would look for a solution no matter what, it wouldn't just gaze upon the world, see an insurmountable mountain, and then retreat until they were good enough to overcome it.

That wasn't real Pride in Sylas' eyes.

Even now, he didn't believe that was real Pride.

But in that case, did he dare to say that he had real Pride? What was pretending to forget things and ignoring his failures if not an inferior version of the Monkey King's Pride?

He was a failure.

The feather became heavier in his hands.

'Mistakes...'

That was it. That was what he feared.

He didn't fear the strength of an enemy, he didn't fear their intelligence, he didn't fear their power or their foundation.

He feared the idea of him having all the cards in his hands and making the wrong judgment call. He feared having all the power and intelligence in the world, and yet failing to capitalize on it.

Sylas realized in that moment the exceptionally same thing that the Omnimous had realized about him during his Omni Training... 'The volcano... I didn't fear death...'

A wind of emerald gold wrapped around Sylas, caressing his body gently, sending his hair into a dance through its currents.

The realization made Sylas feel such relief he felt like something in his body, a hidden burden, had finally been stripped away.

He didn't fear death. Death had never fazed him.

That day in the volcano, he had made a mistake. He had underestimated the world around him and he didn't take it seriously enough. He had miscalculated, and it almost cost him everything.

What had shaken him to the core all this time, it was mistakes.

He feared making mistakes that had consequences he couldn't ever recover from.

One half of Sylas that had been locked away for so long suddenly broke free and flourished.

The other half, however... Sylas still couldn't see.

But right this moment, it didn't matter in the slightest as his Virtue of Pride surged.

He clutched the black feather in his palm.

"You want me to come?" Sylas looked up at the skies the black feather fell from. "Then I'm coming."

The clouds crackled with lightning.